One body, many parts

I have to admit, I struggled with this concept for quite some time. For the longest time, I clung to my individuality, saying that I could be Christian while still being myself. I've matured enough to admit that I'm wrong. So this is my attempt to keep others from making the same mistake.

Now, I will preface this blog by saying that I have by no means mastered any of this. I've acknowledged it...I'm working on it, I think. But, if nothing else, I know that this is the truth.

You must die to your self. There's no exception to the rule. Christ told His disciples that any who claim to follow him must do three things. The first of those is to deny himself (Matt. 16:24). Before you can do anything else, you must start saying no to what you want and what you think you need. Chances are you aren't right anyway. Think about the last thing you asked for. Really think about it. Did you really want whatever it was with all that it implied. Children always want to grow up, but have no idea of the responsibilities. They want a car, but have no idea about insurance. You want a life of fortune and fame. Just look at those that have it. I don't believe money is the root of evil, but it makes the road there a lot easier to take.

Face it. You don't know what's best for you in the world you've lived in your whole life. What gives you the audacity to think you know what's best for your spiritual life?

Denying one's self is just that. You stop focusing on you and start focusing on Him. When you accepted Christ into your life, the old you died. S/He no longer exists. If you act like they do, you're just living a lie and rejecting the new life that God has granted you. Harsh, but that's the truth of it all.

Now, the whole self-denying thing isn't all bad. As you cease to exist, that makes room for God to start to work in your life in ways you can't even begin to imagine. In Jeremiah, God says "For I know the plans I have for you. [...] Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with your whole heart" (Jer. 29:11-13). Although many of us are not part of the original tribes, we are adopted children, and have a right to all the promises and inheritance that they will receive. If you stop worrying about you, He'll take care of it all. Hope, prosperity, a future...I can't see how there's a downside to any of that.

Although the old you is no more, the new you is even better. It's an upgrade in the best way. God handmade you to be just the way you are because there's a task for you to do. Just for you. Now, if you don't do it, I'm sure He'll find someone else. But just think about it. God needs you to do something. It's rather awe-inspiring when you think about it. Your personality, your talents, and your gifts that He gave you...none of it was coincidence or DNA or chance. You have a role to fulfill in the body of Christ. You are one of those many parts.

Paul explains it perfectly in 1 Corinthians 12. Just like the body has billions of separate parts, none of which can exist on its own, so does the Christian family have many parts which all work together.

In conclusion, you don't belong to yourself anymore. Stop acting like it. Forget about you, focus on Him, while still remembering that you have a special place in the Kingdom of God.

Purity - what you can't attain on your own

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 (NKJV)
"Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."

So often, emphasis is put on trying to live a more pure life, in trying to earn more favor or love with God by living the way He would like us to. However, Christ points out in His many sermons and speeches that when you abide in Him, who abides in God, there is your direct connection. Besides, if God, who knows all things past, present and future, was willing to sacrifice His only son for the likes of you and me, I'd think that would be enough proof of how He loves us. Can you imagine doing the same?

The key concepts in these two verses is that there are some things you can't do anything to change. If you could fix yourself, Christ's death was in vain. I believe that one of the few things we can do is resist temptation. Some of our choices lead to a downward spiral, and we do have control over those. However, we cannot purify ourselves. We've been tainted since we came out off the womb. It is only through rebirth in the Spirit that we are made new, and only through the forgiveness of sins and Christ's blood that was shed that we can even claim to be alive in spirit and soul.

Sanctify (greek) - hagiazo : from hagios (sacred, physically pure, morally blameless or religious, consecrated); to make holy, to purify or consecrate; sanctify, be holy

There were those in the OT days that could prove themselves righteous. However, even that righteousness was achieved by having complete faith in God. Now, this does not mean that OT saints never fell. We all know that wasn't the case; they all stumbled, from Abraham to David to Solomon. But God looks at the heart, and they all had a heart for God. It was through God and their relationship with Him that they were made spiritually pure.

Also note that it is not just the spirit and soul that is to be preserved. Paul also points out that the body is included. While you are on earth and bound to your physical body, it must be taken care of. It is God's temple, but it also houses your mind and soul. Just like a house must be kept up to be of utmost efficiency to those inside, so must your body. Now, this subject can quickly turn to another conversation, so I'll not get too much deeper into how the physical form serves the spiritual while on earth.

The last point I want to make on this topic is verse 24. God understands that the calling to serve Him does not lead to an easy life on earth. Nowhere in the Bible does it even hint that following God makes all your problems disappear. If that happens, you might be following the wrong one. He does promise many things though, and one of them is that He will be faithful to you. There is no hidden meaning to that word, faithful. God cannot go against His nature, and so He will be true to you, regardless of how many times you slip and fall. He will always be working things out for your good if you have a heart that serves Him, and He will sanctify and keep you...all of you. There is no if-then clause. There's no exception, no rule. It says that He will do it, period.

So, in summary, stay out of what messes you can. But don't stress out when you do make one. God's got the soap and is ready to wash you clean whenever you ask.